


Take Strength From Those That Need You

by newisalwaysbetter



Category: Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: 3+1 fic, Angst and Fluff, Canon-Typical Violence, Cuddling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Feelings at the end, Flynn takes care of his team, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Not Shippy, Riya though it's not mentioned, Whump, implied PTSD, mild flynn whump, poor flynn, protective!flynn, we love wyatt but his hand to hand skills are not ideal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-03-06
Packaged: 2019-11-08 09:30:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17978804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/newisalwaysbetter/pseuds/newisalwaysbetter
Summary: Or, Three Times Flynn Saves The Team And One Time He Doesn't Need To.After a request for some Flynn appreciation. Garcyatt and permutations thereof, if you squint. Rated teen for cursing and canon-typical violence.





	Take Strength From Those That Need You

**Author's Note:**

> Written after a request from @cuteheartz on tumblr for some Flynn appreciation. Title is, no joke, from the Tarzan song I was listening to while writing.
> 
> As always, I take fic requests (like this one!) over at to-hell-with-oblivion on tumblr :)

**\- 1 - Lucy -**

Lucy tactfully ignores Wyatt's dubiousness when she and Flynn pair off for this mission. Though of the many (mostly unjustified) reasons that Wyatt had to doubt, the probability of them being captured was low on the list.

And yet, here they are, locked in a backroom by Rittenhouse grunts while they wait in nervous anticipation. They had decided to take the initiative for once, and the Rittenhouse agents were clearly unsure why they were here; ergo, an interrogation was forthcoming.

At the beginning, Flynn had stood by the door, but by now they've been waiting for hours. Lucy sits against the wall across from the door, holding her knees. Flynn sits next to her, conserving energy. They had cuffed his wrists in front of him, but hadn't bothered with Lucy, which she was choosing to take as a personal insult.

"Stop fuming," Flynn says offhand. "We want them to underestimate you."

"And Rittenhouse might be listening, so." Lucy avoids his gaze. "Shhh."

"We haven't spoken in hours. I imagine some conversation would be just as welcome to them as to us..."

Lucy is about to respond, doubtless with something scathing and witty that she's still thinking up, when the door unlocks and swings open.

"They're here," Flynn says in a low voice. "On your feet, now."

Lucy rolls her eyes as she gets to her feet. "Thanks for the update..."

Flynn shoots her a look as the Rittenhouse agents file into the room.

"This is not a game," Flynn hisses. "I will get us out of here, but I need you ready to run."

He breaks off as the door shuts behind the men. They're led by one Flynn recognizes, a burly man with meaty hands and a gold tooth. He sneers. "Hey, kiddies."

Lucy and Flynn are frankly unimpressed.

The leader scowls and gestures to his men.

"Hurt the woman. Make him watch."

Before Lucy can react, Flynn is stepping in front of her. "Stay behind me," he says softly. "I'll handle it."

Flynn waits for the leader to exit, and for the other men to approach. As they step forward, he springs into motion.

There are three men. Flynn breaks the first one's nose with a whip-quick headbutt that sends him stumbling back, hands over his face. The second grabs Flynn's upper arm, and Flynn's bound hands lock together and punch sideways into his kidney. The second man goes down, dragging Flynn with him and off-balance, and as the third closes in, Flynn uses his near-horizontal angle to lash out at the man's knee with one powerful leg. The third man's kneecap breaks audibly, and he crumples with a scream.

Lucy is frozen for a long second, watching Flynn move. He's vicious and brutally efficient, a machine. Lucy has seen a lot at this point, but she's never seen Flynn's equal.

Flynn frees himself from the second man's grasp, just in time for the first man to come back swinging. The man is significantly shorter, and Flynn dodges the fist and elbows the man in his shattered nose. Something breaks. The man goes down and doesn't come up again.

The second man is charging Flynn again, who dodges and then throws his wrists over the man's head, using the chain of his cuffs to strangle his attacker. The man struggles--Flynn's jaw clenches--and they're still stumbling when the third man growls, "Freeze, you bastard." He's lying on his side, pointing a gun. 

Flynn hesitates. His face is wild: eyes huge, pupils dilated, teeth bared. The second man's face is turning blue.

"Drop him, you sonuvabitch."

Lucy comes up behind the man and kicks him in the head.

The man drops the gun with a yell, and Lucy hops over him and kicks the gun away. Flynn yells her name, but Lucy is too busy viciously kicking, the face, the stomach, the groin, anywhere she can reach.

"Lucy," Flynn growls, "get. The gun."

Lucy looks down, but the man she's been kicking is curled up on the floor, clutching his face and groin. She scurries across the room for the gun.

"That was risky," Flynn hisses, easing the second man to the ground.

"You saved my life!" Lucy exclaims. "Excuse me for trying to return the favor."

Flynn drops the man and sighs heavily. "Let's go."

As they run down the hallway, Lucy whispers to him, "That was  _amazing_. How did you learn to do that?"

Flynn hides a smile. But the answer hurts too much, so he just says, "Necessity."

They make it back to Wyatt and Rufus--thank god--largely without incident. While Wyatt picks the lock on Flynn's shackles, Rufus gives her the world's tightest hug and whispers, "I heard you got locked in a room with Flynn. What was  _that_ like?"

Lucy makes a funny face. "It was...I don't know. Fine. And kind of..." She laughs. "Is it weird if I say  _awesome_?"

"A little, yeah."

"Enough talk." Flynn drops away his handcuffs. "They're on our trail. We have to move."

He glances at them before he sets off down the alleyway, and the others hurry to keep up with him, without second-guessing.

 

**\- 2 -  Rufus -**

Of the many, many things Rufus hates about these missions, the few occasions when he's forced to work with Flynn rank high on the list.

That said, this particular moment, atop a burning wood-frame prison fifteen feet from the nearest safe structure, with only Flynn for company, may be his all-time record for time-travel _suckiness._

Rufus says as much as he looks over the edge of the burning building, trying to measure the gap between buildings and coming to an unfavorable conclusion.

Flynn watches in silence as Rufus paces the small stretch of the roof not consumed by fire. "Okay, I have an engineering degree from MIT; I can figure this out, despite the irrefutable facts that I'm getting dizzy from smoke, that the Rittenhouse guys have _definitely_ gotten away at this point, and that all we have to save our skins is the clothes on our backs, and a whole lot of _fire!_ "

Flynn glances over the side of the building. "You know, those electrical wires they cut are still attached to this building..."

"Yes, I'm aware of that, seeing as that's what started this fire in the first place." Rufus scrubs a hand over his head. "Okay. I guess, the the fire escape, such as it is, is still standing. Barely. If we can just make it through the fire, we can probably jump safely. Might break something--actually, scratch that, will definitely break something, probably several somethings, but it's better than burning to death, right, though that's assuming we survive the fall in the first place..."

"Oh, for god's sake," Flynn snaps.

"I'm sorry?" Rufus turns on him. "Unless you have a better idea, Flynn, you can just--"

"Follow my lead," Flynn says tightly, and then he grabs the broken cable and jumps off the building.

Rufus makes an aborted scream and runs to the ledge to see Flynn slide down, stopping himself just before the broken, sparking end of the cable. As Rufus watches, Flynn kicks in the window on the floor below and disappears inside.

"What the hell?" Rufus yells, although he doesn't know if Flynn can hear him. "That's not any better!"

Then Flynn comes running out of the broken window, swings out into the night air, and sails across the gap to smash through the window of the non-burning building next door. Rufus forgets to breathe.

Flynn appears in the shattered window and lets the cable swing back. "Your turn," he calls. It's hard to tell from this distance, but Rufus could swear he's smiling.

"Right," Rufus mutters. "You're a badass."

"I _will_ leave you," Flynn says.

Grumbling to himself to quiet the unceasing panic, Rufus takes the cable in his hands and sits down on the edge of the building.

As the fire closes in, and with his heart in his throat, Rufus puts one hand on the wood beneath him, and slides off.

    

**\- 3 - Wyatt -**

 

For Wyatt, it could have been any other mission: Rittenhouse ambush, Lucy and Rufus on the run, and now he's pinned to the wall with a bulky arm across his neck.

Across the room, Flynn is struggling with his own two goons. A little voice in the back of Wyatt's brain is saying he should feel inadequate for getting pinned down by one, but the rest of him is concerned with this guy not crushing his windpipe.

 _The one I'm fighting is bigger,_ that little voice says.

 _Shut up!_  Wyatt thinks.

It's just his luck that that second of jealousy distracts him long enough for the man to slam his fist into the side of Wyatt's head. His skull  _cracks_ against the wall, andWyatt gasps. The man gets a grip on his shoulders and throws him to the ground. Flynn yells his name.  _Shit shit shit shit--_

It's bad to be on the ground, one of the most dangerous places to be, Wyatt knows. He curls in on himself as the man kicks him, protecting his head, throat and kidneys. Still, each hit threatens his unarmored bones.

Wyatt rolls away, and the next hit narrowly misses him. His brain is working quickly--maybe he can kick out, shatter the guy's knee or knock his feet out from under him, or maybe he can get up and into grappling range--

The man isn't trying to kick him anymore, but there's still the sound of hits on a human body. Wyatt rolls into a crouch to find Flynn holding his attacker by the collar and pummeling him with the other hand. There's blood on Flynn's face. Wyatt doesn't know whose it is.

Wyatt gets shakily to his feet, leaning on the wall. He's shaken, but fine. "Thanks."

The man is sagging limp in Flynn's hand. The hits don't slow. Flynn's pupils are blown wide.

"Flynn," Wyatt snaps, but he's wary of stepping into that. He's shaken up enough without getting hit himself. "Flynn!"

There's no response. Flynn's hair is disheveled as he strikes the man, over and over. Wyatt clenches his jaw and steps in to catch Flynn's fist.

Flynn's eyes flash to him, and they're dark and feral, and for a moment Wyatt thinks he's about to end up flat on his back. Then Flynn's shoulders sag, and he looks to the man he's been beating. There's no regret there. Just exhaustion.

Wyatt isn't sure what just happened, but he is sure that this isn't the time. "We need to go," he insists. Flynn drops the man to the ground and runs a hand over his hair, smearing the blood across his hairline. "Are you gonna be okay with..." Wyatt gestures to the cut on Flynn's temple. "That?"

Even bloodied and disoriented, Flynn manages to cock one smarmy eyebrow. "Are  _you?_ "

"I'm fine," Wyatt snaps, and staggers sideways into a wall.

"Obviously." Wyatt can hear him roll his eyes, but he's not really in a position to complain.

Flynn pulls his gun from where it's hidden in his waistband--they had been ambushed before he could pull it out--and pulls Wyatt's arm over his shoulders, helping him to stand upright.

"It was just a dizzy spell," Wyatt complains. "You'll need me to help you--"

"You'll do nothing," Flynn hisses, dragging him out of the room. "I can get us out of here just fine."

Wyatt rolls his eyes, but the movement makes his head spin. "I don't..."

"Stay with me." Wyatt grunts grumpily. He can't lift his head to see Flynn smirking at him, with more affection than is strictly necessary.

They creep down the hall together, Flynn directing him by talking into his ear.

"Have a little faith," Flynn whispers when he grumbles. "When have you ever known me to fail?"

**\- 4 - Flynn -**

Lucy is for once deep in sleep on the bunker couch when she's awakened by the heavy thunder of Flynn running.

That's how she knows something is wrong; Flynn putters around in the kitchen sometimes, but he's always careful to be quiet and not wake her. His footsteps down the hallway mean that her sleep is no longer a priority.

At this point Lucy is well used to springing into action, and she throws off her blanket and swings off the couch. No doubt the others have heard Flynn moving around by now, but Lucy doesn't see anyone else in the common room, which strikes her as unusual. As one of the few without any military training, her waking up late for an attack isn't out of the ordinary; her being the second one to wake up is.

Moreover, the  _Mothership_  alarm isn't blaring, nor are the bunker alarms. In fact, all seems well, except for the tall Croatian stalking rapidly to the door.

"Flynn...?"

Lucy pads down the hallway, brushing her messy hair from her eyes. She keeps her voice low in case something really is wrong, and so she won't spook Flynn if it isn't.

Although she can't be sure, the latter seems more likely. Flynn looks a mess; he's already less imposing than usual in a flannel shirt and ragged jeans, and his hands shake around the gun. Lucy swallows hard.

"Hey, Flynn..." She uses her most soothing voice, but when she tentatively lays a hand on his shoulder, he jerks away, face wild. "Is everything all right?"

She already knows the answer. Flynn's eyes are enormous, as they are when he's in battle mode, but his lower lip is trembling and there's nothing behind those eyes. He looks lost.

"They're here," Flynn hisses. " _Rittenhouse._ "

"Hey." Wyatt's voice rings down the hallway. "Something up?"

Lucy looks back to find him, Rufus, Jiya, and Connor hurrying down the hall towards them, in various stages of undress. Wyatt has a gun, and Lucy's jaw clenches. She's certain now that any danger isn't on the outside.

"Stay back," Flynn yells. He's pressed to the wall, watching the door as if it's about to attack him personally. "I've got this."

"Got what, exactly?" Rufus's brow is furrowed, but he looks more concerned about Flynn than whatever might be outside. "You're looking..." he purses his lips. "You okay, buddy?"

"I said, I've got it," Flynn snaps. "You all need to run!"

"Run from _what?_ " Wyatt stalks to the door. "I haven't heard anything, so unless you know something we don't..." He notices Flynn's ragged state, and glances to Lucy, who gives him a tense look that says  _I can't calm him down._

Wyatt shoves his gun into his pocket. "Flynn? Look at me."

"There's no time." Panic wears at the edges of his soldier facade.

Lucy clenches her jaw and orders, with steel in her voice, "Look at him, Flynn."

Flynn looks helplessly to her, and she stares him down. His eyes flash to Wyatt.

"Hey, from one soldier to another," Wyatt says, "you're having an episode. We...all do. But it's Not. Real." His voice is appealing, begging Flynn to trust him.

"You're in _danger,_ " Flynn pleads.

"Well, yeah." A smile plays around Wyatt's features. "But what else is new, huh?"

Wyatt keeps his gaze on Flynn's as he carefully reaches for Flynn's gun. "But right now...what we need...is for you to put. Down. The. Gun." He works it out of Flynn's hands, slowly prying his fingers away from the grip. "Okay?" Flynn just stares as Wyatt takes the gun from his hands. "Okaayyy."

Rufus and Jiya approach cautiously. "Hey, Flynn," Rufus says softly. "Let's go sit down, okay? We're all going to go sit down, together." He glances at Jiya for help. 

She nods, eyes wide. "Yeah. Sitting down seems good."

Flynn still looks lost, so Lucy takes his hand in hers. He looks down at their hands, and Lucy gently tugs him away. "Come with us."

He stumbles after her with the team hovering around him. Flynn glances around at them nervously, and then back at the door. He keeps trying to stop, and Lucy is barely strong enough to move him, so Wyatt, with some trepidation, slips his hand into Flynn's and rubs his fingers over Flynn's knuckles. Flynn looks to him, and Wyatt nods awkwardly. "You're all right."

"You're all in danger," Flynn insists.

Jiya frowns. "So are you."

Rufus shoots her a look. "Yes, technically speaking, we are all in mortal danger, most of the time, as we have been for the last year." He side-eyes Flynn. "Or longer. But--" he adds quickly at Lucy's look, "We're not, strictly speaking, in any danger right now. Right?" He looks at Wyatt, who nods. "Right."

"No. I--I--" Flynn seems to be searching for words. He looks back at the door. To distract him, Rufus claps a hand to his shoulder, but his eyes widen when Flynn's gaze snaps to him. Rufus swallows hard, but gently presses on Flynn's shoulder to keep him moving forward. Jiya follows his lead, putting her hand on the other side of Flynn's back.

Together, they get him back into the common room and over to the couch. Connor yawns broadly. "If disaster has been averted, I will be returning to bed. Call me if the world ends, mm?"

Lucy huffs as she watches Connor wander away. "Let him go," Rufus says. "He's not...any good with this stuff, anyway."

They turn around to find that Jiya and Wyatt have managed to get Flynn down to sitting on the couch. Lucy frowns. "How did you do that?"

Jiya smiles tightly. "I have firsthand experience with panic."

Wyatt shrugs. "Ditto."

Wyatt sits on Flynn's left side, still rubbing his hand. Jiya sits on the other, one hand on Flynn's shoulder. Lucy kneels down in front of him and takes his other hand, while Rufus hovers over them.

Flynn is breathing hard, so they stroke his hands and shoulder and let Wyatt talk to him with gentle words until his jaw stops shaking and he's focused on the floor. When they think he's stable, Lucy squeezes his hand and says softly, "Why did you get up? Did you hear something?"

Flynn bites his lip hard, then shakes his head. His eyes are wet.

"Then what happened?"

There's a long moment of silence, and then Flynn takes a shuddering breath. It makes his shoulders heave. He's visibly trying not to cry. Finally, he looks to Lucy, and his voice is broken and raw.

"I _must_  protect you," he pleads. He looks from her, to Wyatt, to Jiya, to Rufus. "All of you, you--need me to protect you, and I can't do that--" his voice twists up--"if I'm _sleeping._ "

"Flynn, you do a great job of protecting us," Lucy says. She holds his hand tightly. "You're brave, and strong..."

"And startlingly effective," Rufus adds.

Wyatt coughs. "You've, uh, got good aim." Jiya nods solemnly.

Flynn looks at each of them in turn. His eyes are red-rimmed, and when he speaks, he does so with the utmost earnestness. " _I will not let them hurt you._ "

"You do more than enough." Lucy rubs his knee. "You've already earned your place with us, Flynn."

Wyatt nods. "Damn right."

Flynn still doesn't look convinced. Jiya squeezes his hand until he looks to her, and says softly, "They're right, Flynn."

"I failed her," he croaks suddenly. The others freeze and fall silent.

"I was sleeping, and I lost Lorena, I lost both of them, I didn't protect them, and now--" he squeezes their hands with urgency. "I lost _everyone._ I was _alone!_ "

"You're _not_ alone," Lucy insists. "And you're not going to lose us." She stands and gestures to Jiya. "Can I sit?"

Jiya nods, and scoots over so Lucy can settle in next to Flynn. She nestles into his side, sliding her arm under his and draping her legs over his knees. That distracts him enough, and Flynn looks at her with something like dismay. Lucy rests her head on his shoulder.

"Wyatt and I are going to stay here with you while you fall asleep, all right?" She looks to him and speaks firmly. "Because _we care about you._ "

"Yeah," Wyatt says. "Even when you're not kicking the crap out of Rittenhouse goons for us."

Lucy smiles. "Though that is _much_ appreciated."

Jiya eases her way up from the couch, and Rufus takes her hand. They glance at Lucy and Wyatt, who nod. With one last look at Flynn, Jiya and Rufus retreat down the hall.

Wyatt holds Flynn's hand in one of his and drapes his other arm over Flynn's shoulders. His hand rests on Lucy's back. Together, they encircle Flynn completely, and their heartbeats press against his ribs from either side.

Although Flynn still can't think straight, this is a language he understands. Their presence around him is proof that they are safe. He's done his job; his family is safe. Flynn exhales heavily and lets his head rest on Wyatt's. They're all right. They're all right. They're all right.

There will be another mission tomorrow, undoubtedly. Flynn will be on it, if only so he can have this again. He will do anything for them, give anything for them, if he can have just one more minute--one more moment--of _this._


End file.
